Let's make a statement and show CW what we are really made of! If we can get more people involved, we will be sending a pallet on an 18-wheeler to CW full of Mars bars, Snickers Almond Bars (The USA version of Mars bars), and more! Support us and join the discussion!

Friday, June 8, 2007

Finally an update!

Hello troops!

I am sure you have been waiting all day for an update. I sincerely apologize that I took so long to post here but I am sure you can understand why! I've got some good news and I've got some bad news. Since I'm an optimist...let's start to tackle the bad news and then we'll get to the good news:

1) Marshmallow Problems - I've been working all day calling around in Houston trying to find some marshmallows. Last night the campaign began to switch to marshmallows and I started working on it immediately after getting back to the office this morning. Unfortunately, I'm not doing too well and was only able to obtain the 350 pounds that are scheduled to be delivered Monday before noon.

I need your help! What can we think of besides marshmallows to send them?!

The things that I can think of are Twinkies ( suggestion from a user from the pilot episode ), Rice Krispy treats (which have marshmallows), and Moon Pies (which have marshmallows also). I realize this is not exactly what everyone wants...but they are likely all to go to charity right!

I've already placed an extra order for 30 cases of extra Snickers Almond so we can take up some more space. I can certainly work on obtaining more since these are much easier to obtain. I'll be running all over Houston tomorrow from Sam's to Sam's getting everything they have. (If someone is in Houston and wants to help, let me know!!) But, I will also be listening to your feedback tonight for something else to send them! This is where I need you the the most. Please try to think of something that Sam's carries so we can get it easily.

2) One distributor backs out...well halfway - One of our distributors in Florida has decided to only contribute 4 Mars Bars cases to the campaign instead of the 12 he promised. His reason: "I need them for my other customers". What a joke! Regardless, all of the other cases from New York and Chicago are already on their way. I will post UPS tracking numbers by tomorrow so fans can track the package live! Our Houston stock will go together with the freight truck!

Now on to the good news....

1) Many fans have concerns that the shipment will not arrive there in time to influence a decision. We found a trucking company today that says it usually takes 3 days. That means delivery should be on June 14th, but just in case something happens, they will definitely get it there by Friday! That's very good news!

2) We are in the process of getting some large posters printed out with "Save Veronica Mars". We are also mass print a very nice picture submitted to us (Thanks Rachel!) and stick it on each of the Mars boxes and just on the pallet in general. We'll plastic wrap the whole thing so that we can make sure they in place when it arrives! You can see the picture here: http://www.aliasgrace.com/mallow/s'mores.pdf

I feel that this is a good use for a portion of our funds.

3) Now to the numbers that you've all been waiting to here:

Congratulations! All of the Mars and Snickers bars thus far have been reserved. That's 1920 Mars Bars (after reduction of the 8 cases) and 4200 Snickers bars (after our additional purchase). A portion of the funds from the Paypal account will be put towards marshmallows, freight costs, labor costs here in Houston (it does cost us to send employees to get things, I do hope you can understand that). Again, this is where I need you all! Please post here with your suggestions and see what we can get going so we can use the balance of the Paypal funds.

As of 8:19PM CST, our funds in Paypal have hit $1524.96. Approximately $900 or so will go towards an extra 100 cases of Snickers almond bars and poster printing. That still leaves us ~$625 to use to promote our cause!

If I may, I have a special request to fans. We really do prefer to receive funds via Paypal rather than orders via . We are able to use the Paypal funds more freely to purchase other goods besides Mars bars since it is not subject to commissions. Still, if you would rather contribute towards the Mars bars, we will still be accepting orders from .

A very nice fan (Thanks Rama!) gave us the idea that we should contact a distributor of chocolates or marshmallows in Los Angeles, CA so we can get delivery on an exact day. I thought this was a wonderful idea and he is already helping me with this. If anyone knows someone in Los Angeles that is able to deliver or ship to the offices in Burbank, I think that is something worth looking into.

Lastly, some have requested to see what the actual Mars bars cases look like. Here is a picture I took of the 13 cases going from our location ( I can't get pictures of the other ones since they were coming from different cities)

Sorry for the long post guys...it feels like an eternity since I wrote to you last. I wanted to be very honest with you as to what is actually going on rather than telling you what may happen.

65 comments:

I think twinkies would be good too. I mean honestly Wallace does call Veronica a twinkie too right after marshmellow. I'm surprised Veronica Mars is a twinkie didn't catch on as fast as VM is a marshmellow. So yeah twinkies sounds good! Thank you so much for your hard work!

Do the Twinkies- they have to be easier to get. I also like Moon Pies, but I think you will find the same distribution problems. I will search the DVDs tonight for anything else we could use that is more readily available. Keep on Keepin' on y'all- excellent work!!!

Actually the founder of Mars bars was named Forrest Mars. So tweak the campaign and send all of the candy founded by Forrest Mars = Mars' Bars: (M&Ms- not really 'bars') Snickers, Milky Way, Mars Bars...

I live in Houston! :) I won't be able to help tommorow but I think I can help on Sunday, but I have to go somewhere at 4.. so I'd love to help in the morning! Well if you're open on Sunday..Where's your location? You can email me at:lolipop4sell@yahoo.com

do your best with marshmallows - go to all the supermarkets and buy 'em out. even stores like target sell marshmallows. this just doesn't feel as cohesive as the jericho nuts campaign. we already have the mars bars, almond snickers and marshmallows, i hate to add another random item on there.

I say try and stick with just the marshmallows. They've got to be stock piled somewhere!

I think we lost our train of thought somewhere along the line. Sending a multitude of different items just, well, doesn't make sense. We should just stick to one or two things, it'll make a bigger and better impression.

i think the best bet on getting marshmallows is to just go to every grocery store that is close by. i'v been checking online for distributors or companies that sell marshmallows but im not finding much. might be easier to run to as many stores as possible and buy all they have until the money runs out.

I think if possible we should stick to the three items we already have, but if we are ABSOLUTELY SURE that we've exhuasted all possible options then we should move on to something else. What about other s'mores ingredients, like graham crackers or hersheys and then we could put those all together with the marshmallows and keep the same signs. We also can't forget to keep sending letters non-stop. Snail-mail has a big impact, because it occupies space unlike email. Everyone should send several letters. You can also print pics of mars bars and send them.

I don't know if anyone sells them commercially, but Veronica made snickerdoodles for Wallace for his spirit boxes. That seems like the way to go once all of the Mars bars and marshmallows in America are done.

Let's get marshmallows in CA and every grocery store we can find guys - also

TheIndianFoodStore ROCKS!!!!!

y'all are just awesome

I think we really need to stick to marshmallows though - they take up more space, and we really are looking for quantity here, and a limited amount of time in which to raise funds, so really - marshmallows, wherever we can find them!!!

Just donated $20 to Pay Pal, but I hope that the money wisely is used toward the campaign and not to enrich others :-p. The portion that pays toward "labor costs" worries me, since there really isn't any oversight on how the funds are used.

Just an idea.. Why don't all the fans go onto itunes on monday and purchase the "The Bitch is back". If we can show CW that it may not have a huge fan gathering but we can sweeten their pockets all the same, maybe it will push them a bit torward a midseason renewal.At 2 bucks for the episode,its a cheap way to show our support individually, but if we all buy it on the same day, it will show our fan power. Plus wouldn't it be great if we could get VM renewed and be able to have VM live the title down =)

I actually like that last idea a lot-- buying the bitch is back on itunes. It could really make a big impact if the last day, the last episode of VMars is the top downloaded show on itunes... If we could set that up, along with the bars and marshmallows, I think it will be a pretty cohesive message. I also agree with most of the posters above-- we should just stick with the marshmallows and candy bars. Anything more and it will look way too unfocused.

They will understand the marshmallows if we include the "Veronica Mars, she's a marshmallow" posters.

Also, you guys can only do so much in one city and with a limited amount of distributors. However, there are still Snickers Almond Bars and marshmallows currently sitting on the shelves of supermarkets in cities nationwide, just ready to be bought. I think it's time we, the fans, take this to the next level and empty the stores of these products in the cities where we live. You guys are awesome for organizing and coordinating this effort with distributors for items that have yet to reach the supermarket shelf, but we mustn't forget the stuff that's already on the shelf.

I agree with the "less is more" philosophy on number of products. Mars Bars (and Snickers) and marsmallows.

This has me so excited that I wish I lived closer to either Houston or L.A. so I could add some labor to the cause.

Sachin and TheIndianFoodStore rock big time. I shouldn't be, I suppose, but I am surprised and gladdened to see a reciprocal good will going on. It is so rare anymore.

One of the reasons I want "Veronica Mars" to continue? So that I can watch the underdog occasionally win. I think Veronica would be very pleased about this campaign! It's the kind of thing that makes her a marshmallow.

I also agree with purchasing "The Bitch is Back" from iTunes. Good idea.

Again, thank you, Sachin and Co. :-) - skyroom 80 (who seems to be having trouble with the password and dislikes being "anonymous.")

first i wanna say that i am behind this cause 110% and i really, really hope it works. and i appreciate all that everyone is doing. with that said...i am a little concerned with the snickers, i was looking at the wrapper and the pnly place it says Mars, it is so tiny that you can hardly see it unless you are looking for it, here's a link in case anyone is curious

http://www.mikescandywrappers.com/photos/snickalmax0305.jpg

anyways, im hoping that maybe before the shipment goes out we can think of a creative way to tie it to the show somehow. or tie the snickers to the mars bar using some analogy that has to do with the show. we are a creative bunch of people, as we have shown in doing this whole thing, i think we can come up with something. i would just hate for it to come across somehow that we sent them something that didn't have anything to do with the show. even if we say something as simple as we wanted to send them snickerdoodles but thought they might go bad before they got there so we just did the snicker part. something that will link it to the show. i am watching the 1st season as we speak and im watching for something that we can use.

again, i do appreciate all that is being done, please don't take my post the wrong way.

the link in the last post should be http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fei%3DUTF-8%26p%3Dsnickers%2520almond%26fr%3Dyfp-t-501%26fr2%3Dtab-web%26fr%3Dyfp-t-501&w=872&h=622&imgurl=www.mikescandywrappers.com%2Fphotos%2Fsnickalmax0305.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mikescandywrappers.com%2Fsnickalmax0305.html&size=129.9kB&name=snickalmax0305.jpg&p=snickers+almond&type=jpeg&no=6&tt=112&oid=da581d2ceb174632&ei=UTF-8

this should work...i think. you can always just use a search engine under images and search snickers almond

regarding the marshmallows: have you tried food supply places that chefs & bakeries buy from? There've got to be tons in the Houston area & the LA area if they're picking stuff up there.There's also fake marshmallows used for craft projects, etc. which can be found at places likehttp://craftamerica.com/foam_marshmallow_shapes.htm

Just my 2 cents' worth, but I'd get the fake ones before adding anything new.

Hercules at Ain’t It Cool suggested that everyone go to the iTunes Store ON THURSDAY, JUNE 14TH, and buy the final episode of VM season 3, “The Bitch Is Back”, so that it’ll be number one in iTunes’ Top TV Episodes list when the CW suits sit down on Friday to make their decision.

Please wait until Thursday to buy it, so that we'll all be doing it on a single day.

Here’s a link to the episode at the iTunes Store (which may only work if iTunes software is installed on your computer):http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewVideo?id=256162714&p=208888459&s=143441

Hi! I just saw this great comic in the funny pages for this week - Mallard Fillmore by Bruce Tinsley. This seemed like the most active VM Forum so I thought I would post it here so people can see it. It is the first comic strip at the top of the page. It really sums up our thoughts of the people at CW for trying to cancel our show.

I think to help get the point across about the snickers w/ almonds, we need to include a note or poster saying "Sorry CW, we bought out all the Mars Bars in the country- these will have to do for now." Or something to that effect. what do you guys think?

I think we should put a sign on the snickers almonds saying something about how we bought all the Mars Bars in the country, that's a pretty big statement, buying out an item. keep sending snail mail!!!!

I agree with the last poster's comment about the note - that whole "buying out US Mars Bars" is HUGE! And that some were imported? That's even more impressive than tons of nuts. Regardless, the poster who spoke about buying the iTunes episode - I read on another site that people are planning to coordinate a June 12th day (because VM aired on Tuesdays) So I think we need to get ahole of Hercules & try to figure out which day! I think the 12th would be better simply because it allows more time before the deadline & was VM's day.

Everyone should try and buy marshmallows and almond snickers from their local grocery stores and send them. I know it's not as organized as a mass shipment, but it might even have a stronger impact to have seperate packages coming in as well. We could add other candy bars as a last result, I don't think we should add twinkies or anything. But, few cases of regular snickers with the almonds wouldn't derail it too much. And maybe someone could come up with something clever to put on them other than saying we bought out the Mars Bars, which we need to say, like something about "snickering" or something.

Most definitely attach a note that says "Sorry CW, we bought every Mars Bar in the country... and ran out of places to import from... Here's the US version of the Mars Bar, Snickers with almonds..."

Or something like that.

Maybe use quotes from the show to explain the other food, if we go that route.

From PILOT - Veronica: "You know what they say. Veronica Mars... She's a marshmallow."From NORMAL IS THE WATCHWORD -Logan: "Uh, I want a Rice Krispie treat."From BETTY AND VERONICA - Wallace: "Snickerdoodles. And they just appeared in my locker, just like that. Open my locker, bam. Homemade…."

First I'd just like to reiterate that VM fans are incredibly grateful that your are helping us out- seriously you guys are the nicest people ever. As for what else to buy, Twinkies would be a good way to go since they do mention that in the show. And if not that, then rice krispies treats since those are actually mentioned as well in the show (season 2, episode 1), although it's not as well known I think.

Okay, I do think we should try to stick with the marshmellows, it's a GREAT idea, but if we cannot do marshmellows, then here are some ideas with explanations and episodes they were in:

Charleston Chew "Your last name is Chu?""Yeah.""Charleston Chu?" A Charleston Chew is a candy bar made of nougat covered with chocolate. It's named after the Charleston, a dance popular when the candy bar was created in 1922. The frat guy's name isn't really Charleston, but that's one of those hilarious jokes frat boys are known to come up with. Frat boys, like cheerleaders, are clever like that. 3.04 "Charlie Don't Surf"

Doublemint "Hottie Internet chicks found out about each other, talked it over, and they're into it!""Into it?""Doublemint, baby!" Who knew chewing gum could be so sexy? Still on the shelves, Doublemint gum was introduced by Wrigley in 1914. The brand's decades-old advertising campaign, which employs sets of nubile twins and the phrase "double your pleasure, double your fun", continues to be misappopriated by perverse men (and boys such as Dick) everywhere. 3.16 "Un-American Graffiti"

Everlasting Gobstopper "This one is the Everlasting Gobstopper of spending money." Mmm...candy. Mmm...candy...that lasts forever? Roald Dahl, writer of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, is responsible for putting this concept into the heads of children (who are adults by now) everywhere. Sadly, as is true for most things in life, the real Everlasting Gobstopper is far less exciting. The jawbreaker-type candy lasts for a while, sure, but nowhere near as long as its name would suggest. Common sense tells us it's the fictional version that's being used as a comparison because the other would just mean money for an hour or so...and then nothing. More like the hooker of spending money. 3.19 "Weevils Wobble But They Don't Go Down"

Pixy Stix "I may have to have a talk with Miss Pixy Stix." This nostalgic candy from Wonka Products is sold as a pack of nine-inch paper tubes of multiple colors that are filled with dye and flavored sugar. They should be called "A Dentist's Dream." If Jackie was implying that Veronica's legs are skinny like Pixy Stix, she'd be quite wrong. Veronica's got some nice gams. If she was implying that Veronica is sweet and colorful on the inside, she'd be quite right. 2.04 "Green-Eyed Monster"

Just some ideas, I got the info from marsinvestigations.net...

I also think it is a good idea for us fans to buy marshmellows from the stores around us and ship them to the CW. Finally, I want to thank Sachin and the Indian Store for all their help in doing this and organizing it, you guys are amazing!!!!!!!

i like the "perSNICKERty" idea, it's cute. maybe someone is is good at designing things can design a poster with that just in case and maybe someone who is strong at writing can write a lil note explaining why we switched from Mars to Snickers. that way which ever way we all decide to go we have something ready when it comes time to ship it all.

i also think that the person who said to offer the company that wouldn't sell us all the mars bars a little more money as an incentive had a good idea. it may work...then we will really have all the Mars bars from the U.S.

I agree with the invisible children donation, if we have funds left over.The people on TWOP have already designed a shirt, my pretty pony, and the proceeds of those purchases will be donated to invisible children.

To those saying to purchase the Bitch is Back on June 14th, the site http://www.saveveronicamars.tv (which is working alongside The Indian Food Store) has been saying to purchase the episode on JUNE 12TH so that the CW Network has time to receive and register the numbers. JUNE 12TH GUYS - THE BITCH IS BACK!

For the note on the Snickers, I think combining the two sentiments that have been discussed would be the best way to go. For example: Sorry, CW Network, we bought out all the Mars Bars in the country and had so switch to the US version: Snickers with Almonds. Because Veronica knows it's good to be perSNICKERity!

I also like the idea of sending Double Mint gum BUT only if we absolutely have to add a product, think this is the product to add. Because of the reference, and because Wrigley's had many product placements in the show and was a huge sponsor toward the end of this last season.

Those are my thoughts. Thank you SO much to The Indian Food Store. I've told my friends about you guys and how awesome you are, and we will definitely buy from you in the future, long after this campaign is over. Sachin and the rest have really gone above and beyond on this one, and I'm all smiles just thinking about it. You guys rock!